Nonmetallic mine



March 23, 1948. J, 1, TAYLOR ET AL 2,438,307

NON-METALLIC MINE Filed Jan. 10, 1946 3 sheets-sheet 1` nmllllllQs wilyi mn* X;

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JJ.' MVZA) 'Y and HJM/P055 March 23, 1,948. J, J, TAYLQR ET AL 2,438,307

NoN-METALLIC MINE v March 23, 1948'. J, J, TAYLOR, Er AL 4325.307

NoN-METALLIC MINE Filed Jan. 10, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 1l- A gmc/whoisand PM (QS Y tion; i

Patented Mar. 23,1948

NONMETALLTC MINE John J. Taylor and Paul M. Ross, Wadsworth, Ohio,assignors to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation ofNewJersey Application January 10, 1946, Serial No. 640,247

4 Claims.

This invention relates to explosive mines, especially to such mines thatare built so as to have no magnetically sensitive members in theassembled mine structure.

Heretofore, most explosive mines have included in their construction oneor more parts made from metals, especially metals capable of readydetection by certain types of electrical mine detectors so that,` evenif the minerwere buried in the earth or otherwise hidden, it often couldbe located without exploding same. Then, with care, the mine could beremoved from'its concealed location and rendered safe in an appropriatemanner. It thus will be evident that the elimination of metal intheccnstruction of explosive mines is highly desirable.

One object of thisinvention is to provide a non-metallic, explosive mineof sturdy, inexpensive construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mine which is constructed'and arranged to be 'capable of operative action whensubstantially frozen to theearth, and which is watertight in thewater-sensitive portions thereof.

A further object of the invention is top'rovide a mine constructionadapted to exclude foreign material from the movable operating portionthereof. l, V

Yet another object of the inventionv is to provide a mine which hassubstantially the same operating characteristics for load applied to anyportion of the top thereof.

Another object is to provide a mine which can be easily armed after itis positioned. Y

A still further object of the invention is to provide a mine with anoperating plate which is substantially free from restraint imposed byfrozen earth in contact with the mines circumference.

The foregoing and other objects will be made apparent by the followingdescription, especially in relationship to the accompanying drawings-inwhich: f Y

Figure 1 is an elevation, shown primarily in vertical section, of a mineembodying the inven- Figure 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the fuzearming means of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view of the porcelain body member illustrating the underside thereof;

Figure 4 is the vertical sectional view taken on line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an elevation, shown partially in vertical section, of amodification of the invention;

Figures 6 and 7 are respectively sections taken on lines 6 of Figure 7,and I---l of Figure 6of a rubber bellows shown in Figure 5;

Figure 8 is an elevation, partially in section, of a container membershown in Figure 5;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary plan view of the container of Figure 8Figlll'e 10 is an elevation, partially in section, of a furthercontainer member shown in Figure 5;

Figures 11 and l2 are fragmentary sectional detail views taken on thelines I I--I I of Figure .8 and I2-I2 of Figure 9, respectively.

Referring in detail to the construction shown in the accompanyingdrawing, Figure 1, indicates generally a non-metallic explosive mine2l), in which is disposed a porcelain disc frame member 2|, having anapertured boss 22 extending from its lower side, said boss having aplurality of indentations, or iiutes 23, therein with the reducedthickness zone of the boss 22 being appreciably greater than the zone oforiginal or unchanged thickness, for a purpose hereinafter disclosed. Ym

A belleville spring 24 is vcarried by the disc 2l on its upper surface.VThis spring is formed from laminated paper, plastic or othernon-metallic composition capable of being formed tol an archedconstruction, but adapted to be flattened when a predetermined load isapplied to its upper surface in order to operate thevmine, ashereinafter set forth. In place of one built-up belleville spring it maybe desired to form'the spring from a plurality of spring laminations(not shown) heldV togetherbythe assembly of the mine components. Themine 20 is detonated by pressure applied to the side area of the uppersurface of the mine. This is accomplished by the use of a plywoodoperating plate 25 which is carried on and supported by the uppersurface of the belleville spring 24 at the center thereof. The lowersurface of the operating plate andthe upper surface of the bellevillespring are formed of such curvatures that the contact point of thespring and plate moves outwardly when pressure is applied to the iplatesedge areas. 'Ihe lower surface of the operating plate, acting as afulcrum moves the contact point radially of the mine and into closervertical To seal the water pervious portion of the mine and prevent theentrance of foreign material between the edge portion of the operatingplate and the belleville spring, a flexible rubber bellows 26 is securedto the operating plate 25 and extends to the disc 2|. The bellows 26may, of course, be made from any suitable rubber, or rubber-likematerial and is secured to the operating plate 25 by a plastic disc plug21' which is in threaded engagement therewith. Any suitable tape 28 maybe used to seal the bellows 26 to the edge of the disc 2|, while thelower lip of the bellows 2B may be secured to a brous container 29 whichis suitably associated with the disc 2| and its boss 22. The container29 is used to carry the main explosive charge for the mine 20. Usually,trinitrotoluene is used as the charge for the mine and it is bestpositioned in the container 29 by heating the trinitrotoluene andpouring it as a liquid into the container when the container 23 isassociated with the porcelain frame 2|. The liquid TNT iiows intointimate contact with the boss 22 and ilutes 23 therein, and aids inretaining itself and the container 29 in fixed engagement Vwith themine. The flutes 23, which are best shown in Figures 3 and 4 of thedrawings, give a good field of detonation for the booster charge of themine which is carried within the boss 22, as hereinafter described. Aslight air space is provided between the porcelain frame 2| and thecontainer 29 which reduces the hazard of fracture of the porcelain frameif the mine is dropped on its bottom or lower corners. A further fibrouscover 3| may be placed over the lower surface of the TNT carried by themine.

The boss 22 of the porcelain frame is used to receive a non-metallicfuze used with the mine 2@ to render same operative. To this end, a iuzewell sleeve 32 is positioned within the boss 22 and extends along theaxis thereof. A cover 33 is cemented in to seal the upper portion of thechamber formed between the inner surface of the boss 22 and the sleeve32, and normally a booster charge 34 is received within'this compartmentof the mine 23.

A tubular body 35, also made from plastic, porcelain or other suitablenon-metallic material, received within the sleeve 32. A housing 35,which receives a piston 31r therein for movement along the axis of thesleeve 32 is positioned in the tubular body 35. A thin piston retainerdisc 35i is positioned within the housing 36 to retain the piston in agiven position until forced to move therefrom by impact of a firing pin,as hereinafter described. A porcelain diaphragm 39 is in contact withthe inner end of the piston 31 and is in closely spaced relation to aporcelain anvil fil, so that the movement of the piston will drive thediaphragm 39 against the end of the anvil lli, The normal space betweensuch members is filled with impact and pressure sensitive ingredients(not shown) so that such ingredients .vill be caused to explode when theporcelain diaphragm is driven against the anvil 4| by impact oi the ringpin on the piston 31. One mixture which has been satisfactory as adetonator is made of lead thiocyanate, potassium ehlorate, and groundglass. Obviously, the composition and physical strength of the piston31, piston retainer disc 38, porcelain diaphragm 39 and porcelain anvill|| are made of such nature as to operate in the manner outlined above.

The porcelain anvil 4| is positioned on shoulders 35a formed in the body35 so that it is prevented from moving when the piston drives theporcelain diaphragm 39 inwardly of the fuze so as to break it anddetonate the ingredients therebetween.

A detonator cup 42 and a pellet booster 43 are positioned within thetubular body 35 and spaced from the porcelain anvil 4| by a booster disc44 positioned within the fuze body. A closure disc 45 and a pad 46 arepositioned at the bottom of the tubular body 35 to complete same.

A bottom closure plug 41 is in threaded engagement with the sleeve 32and it presses a suitable gasket 43 into sealing engagement with theboss 22 of the frame disc 2|. This seals the fuze opening in the boss,thus preventing entrance of water into the water sensitive fuze assemblyfrom the bottom of the mine. It will be seen that the fuze can beinserted into its position from the bottom of the boss 22, prior toengagement of the plug 41.

In the upper portion of the mine, the plastic disc 21 compresses oneextremity of the rubber bellows 26 into sealing engagement with theplate 25 to form a water tight seal for the upper portion of the mine2|). Thus the water sensitive portions of the mine are sealed by thebellows 23, the porcelain disc 2| and the two plugs, 21 and d1. The disc21 also forms a bearing for a ring pin 5l. An arm 52 extendssubstantially horizontally from the firing pin and connects to a shaft53 extending through the disc. This shaft 53 is eccentrically positionedwith relation to the axis of the fuze well sleeve 32 and connects to anoperating lever 54 on the outside oi the mine 2li. The operating lever54 is adapted to be moved through an arc and move the firing pin 5| intosuperimposed vertical alignment with the piston 31 so as to arm the mine23 but to be positioned normally at its other extremity of movementwhereby the iiring pin is removed from vertical alignment with thepiston 31, and downward movement of the operating plate and itsassociated structure will not detonate the mine.

It will be noted that all of the parts of the mine 2E) are made fromplywood, porcelain, plastic, fiber or other non-metallic materials, butthat the physical strength of the mine is still satisfactory for itsnormal use. It is to be noted that the portions of the mine inclosingthe fuze are made water-tight to prevent water from seeping into themine. Another feature of the mine is that it is not easily damaged bybeing dropped and not easily detonated sympathetically.

A mine 6|] embodying a modied type of nonmetallic construction is shownin Figures 5 through l2. The mine 6|) is of substantially the sameconstruction as the mine 20 but includes -a rubber bellows 26a which issecured between the disc 2|a and the operating plate 25a to form a sealtherebetween. In this instance, the operating plate remains in fixedcontact with the center of the belleville spring. The top portion of themine 6G then is partially sealed to the lower mine section by a sealtape 3| carried by a fabric or fiber cover member |52 secured over therubber bellows 230.. vertically extending ribs 23h are formed in thebellows to facilitate expansion of the bellows when the mine operatingplate and belleville spring are depressed, and thus reduce the backpressure set up in the mine when the operating plate is moveddownwardly. indentations 63 are formed in the upper edge surface of theTNT container 41a. These indentations permit air Within the mine 60 butoutside of the bellows 26a to vent therefrom when the upper section ofthe mine is pushed down towards the lower section.

Several embodiments of the invention have been illustrated andcompletely described herein. However, it will be understood that thescope of the invention is dened by the claims appended hereto and is notlimited otherwise to the examples set forth herein.

What is claimed is:

1. A non-metallic mine comprising a disc having an apertured bossextending from the lower side thereof, a belleville spring positioned onthe upper surface of said disc, an operating plate associated with theupper surface of said spring with only a center contact therebetweenunder no-load conditions, non-metallic fuze means carried in the boss ofsaid disc, a plastic base plug sealing said fuze means in the lowerportion of the ,boss of said disc, explosive means associated with theouter surface of the boss of said disc, said disc having flutes formedin the outer surface of said boss, a rubber bel-lows extending betweenthe outer portion of said disc and operating plate so as to prevent theentrance of water into the mine, and fuze arming and detonating meanscarried by said operating plate in spaced vertical relation to said fuzemeans and being adapted to detonate said fuze means on downward movementof said operating plate, an air pressure space being provided betweenthe upper surface of said explosive means and the lower surface of saiddisc to render the mine less susceptible to mechanical shocks on saidexplosive means, all of the components of the mine being made fromnon-metallic materials.

2. In a non-metallic explosive mine, a nonmetallic frame member, anon-metallic belleville spring positioned on the upper surface of saidframe member, a non-metallic operating plate associated with the uppersurface of said spring, and tape means retaining said operating plateand belleville spring in association to prevent separation thereof, saidoperating plate having a lower surface curved to bring only the centerthereof in contact with said spring at no load condition, said springand said operating plate being constructed and arranged to have arolling contact which moves radially outwardly of the mine towards theapplied force when an edge load is applied to said operating plate so asto reduce the lever eiect of the edge load.

3. A non-metallic mine comprising a disc having an apertured bossextending from the lower side thereof, a belleville spring positioned onthe upper surface of said disc, an operating plate associated with theupper surface of said spring, non-metallic fuze means carried in theboss of said disc, a base plug sealing said fuze means in the lowerportion of the boss of said disc, said disc having flutes formed inappreciably more than half of the outer surface of said boss, a rubberbellows extending between the outer portion of said disc and saidoperating plate so as to prevent the entrance of water therebetweenwhereby the water pervious portions of the mine 'are sealed, a fuzearming and detonating means carried by said operating plate in spacedvertical relation to said fuze means and being adapted to detonate saidfuze means on downward movement of said operating plate, an air spacebeing provided between the upper surface of the explosive means which isusually associated with said boss and the lower surface of said disc torender the mine less susceptible to fracture by dropping, all of thecomponents of the mine being made from non-metallic materials.

4. In an explosive mine, a frame member comprising a porcelain disc, abelleville spring positioned on the upper surface of said porcelaindisc, an operating plate carried by said spring, and means extendingbetween said operating plate and belleville spring to prevent separationthereof, said operating plate having a curved lower surface so as tobring only the center thereof in no load Contact with said spring, saidspring and said operating plate being constructed and arranged to have arolling contact which moves radially outwardly of the mine towards theappled force when an edge load is applied to said operating plate so asto reduce the lever effect of the edge load as the said spring iscompressed.

JOHN J. TAYLOR. PAUL M. ROSS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date ,1,503,769 Ryan Aug. 5, 19242,324,846 Joyce et al. July 20, 1943 2,336,701 Rasmussen Dec. 14, 19432,358,403 Gore et al Sept. 19, 1944 2,376,332 Adelman May 22, 19452,377,174 Parker May 29, 1945 2,412,695 Rost et al. Dec. 17, 1946

